


Volenfell

by Dhole



Series: Vexi's self indulgent AU [1]
Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls Online
Genre: Accidental Necromancey, Dwemer Ruins, Everybody Lives, Ex Wife enjoy your ex life, Gen, Treasure Hunting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:01:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22686664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dhole/pseuds/Dhole
Summary: An AU where Tharayya, esstemed Redguard scholar and Dwemer researcher searches for the Guardian's Eye without the help of the Undaunted members. Intead reluctantly needing the help from the last place she wants it.
Series: Vexi's self indulgent AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1988164
Kudos: 12





	1. Dessert Lion

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! First time writing Elderscrolls content so I went with something easy and...Not too lore heavy because I'm stewpit. I love Tharayya so much and finding shes 0 fan content prompted me and a few friends to try and change that. Shout out to Skymagpie epsecially @twitter for encourging me on throughout this fic!

It was strange for Tharayya. To wake up to silence. No faint chatter among the mercenaries...And above all, her husband's’ incessant loud snoring. The perfect alternative to an alarm device. When he wasn’t keeping her awake half the night by spreading his gangly limbs in every direction often entangling her like a netch. One time she threw his arm right back at him, causing it to smack his own face...Of course it didn’t even wake him. A daedric dolmen tearing apart Nirn’s skies couldn’t wake up Quintus. 

The Redguard woman slowly sat up. Rubbing a hand through her loose coiled hair. He wasn't even in their tent from the looks of things. "Fancied an early start did we today?" Tharayya mumbled to herself during a stretch. Before getting herself up out of the sleeping bag. "No doubt I'll find you dozing off behind one of the ruins in an hour; you lazy-" While adjusting the straps on her explorer outfit the mirror showcased a complete mess behind. Storage containers overturned and cast aside. Books carelessly strewn across the place. It was like a duneripper had torn through the camp… How had this not woken her up? Where was Quintus? Had he seen this mess and just decided to ignore it? 

Among the various empty containers and chests.Tharayya spotted her own satchel. Overturned and emptied. She never let that bag leave her side as it contained her own, personal notes. That she was...unwilling to share with her husband given how he'd...been behaving in regards to the expedition. 

A few close friends questioned her choice to marry Quintus. Especially so suddenly. Truthfully, Tharayya admitted she was only interested in getting hold of the imperial's research. He wasn't exactly charismatic, nor charming. Barely had a positive trait about him...besides looking comically like a ferret. Something Quintus took a great amount of offense too when she mentioned it playfully one time. 

The Redguard scooped up her bag and stuck her hand into it. Hoping to find what she prayed wasn't taken...To her dismay. Completely empty. Whoever had been in here had taken her research notes. Tharayya stumbled over to Quintus’ sleeping bag, empty and left in a mess. Various empty wine bottles scattered around his sleeping space. She kicked the empty bottles around, finding his travel bag and (reluctantly) delving her hand into it. As she expected, also empty. She and her husband had been robbed...Or perhaps, no no...Quintus surely hadn't stolen them...He didn't even know they existed.

Tharayya rushed out of the tent. Throwing the flap aside and thundering out into their shared camp.

“Quin-!” She stopped dead. Her entire camp was deserted. Fires nothing more than smouldering embers strangling to keep the last flare going. Slowly pacing out the woman slowly looked around at the tents owned by her own hired help. Again nobody was around but their tents seemed shut tight via the ropes still. She rushed over and tangled and ripped at the ropes to fling the tent open. Finding inside, to her horror, two of her mercenaries and close friends, Fadanah and Israhal. Unconscious, tied and gagged where they were once sleeping. She wasted no time rushing over and quickly cutting her friends free using one of her khopeshes. 

“Fadanah?? Israhal??” Tharayya cried, shaking each of the Redguard’s by the shoulders desperate to rouse them. Neither woke, but they breathed steadily. Much to Tharayya’s relief. They must’ve been drugged...Had...Had she been drugged too? It began to make sense why Quintus hadn’t woken her up involuntarily. Had he done this…? No, no… She needed to go outside...And find more clues to what exactly was going on here. 

Combing through the empty camp. Frustratingly nothing turned up any clues where the other workers, mercenaries and her own husband had gotten to. The food crates were emptied. As were the crates containing the various shovels and picks she’d hired out. Theory after theory began to play out. The mercenaries who her husband hired never gave off a good vibe. Their leader, some Imperial, whose name she didn’t care to remember, led them. Unsure if he owed her husband any kind of favour like the treasure hunters he brought along. Tharayya stopped asking how that man had so many strings to pull to get them both on such pricey expeditions. Quintus must’ve had some secret trust fund she wasn’t allowed to know about. ...Maybe that shady group of mercs did find out. Got her and her own team out the way, took Quintus. ...But why her notes?...Why did they leave her alive if they had no need for her... Standing around was getting Tharayya no answers. She headed onwards, up the sandy path. The only way was forward in Volenfell.

* * *

Tracking down where the thieves had gone wasn’t too hard for Tharayya. The fools had left a good, clear set of footprints for her to follow along. They went all along a side side and towards some crumbling ruins. Then she noticed the trail suddenly split in all wild directions. Some splintering off towards the left. The rest headed up the stairs and into the torn down ruins. 

And-...The answer why was laying in a sleepy pile at the bottom of the slope. A pride of desert lions. Four females and a very large male sleeping blissfully. Their fur was pearl white in colour, unusual for the desert lions of Alik'r. Judging by the scattering of footprints in the sand, it was plain to see the treasure hunters had stumbled upon these animals and fled in wild panic. Tharayya knew better though, they were sleeping. Meaning they’d fed, they wouldn’t pay her any mind. Just walk past them nice and slow-

One lioness raised its head slowly. Sniffing the air. Tharayya quickly front rolled behind a rock formation. Cursing herself for speaking so soon. The big cat made a rumbling noise rousing the rest of its pride mates. The male sniffing too, sensing something was nearby. Too close for the cat’s comfort. All of the large lions standing up and begin to prowl about, hunting the new smell.

Tharayya silently swore seeing the pride of four lurking near her. The large white male was getting far too close now. She knew he could smell her. She did have her blades...But against four lions...Plus...Why did they have to die? They had done her no wrong...Maybe done her a favour if they’d caught one of the bastards who’d drugged her. As she thought desperately for a plan the back of her wrist brushed a hard lump in her trouser pocket. One she’d not noticed earlier. Digging her hand into it and pulling out...A skeeverton? Oh! Yes! She’d been tinkering with it since finding its disassembled body back in Aldunz. She’d got it mostly working again but hadn’t had a chance to test it out… It seemed the most absurd idea when it sprung. But anything went when it came to big killer lions closing in on her.

The skeeverton was wound up...Placed down...Then released. It skirted right towards the pride of lions in a straight line. Immediately it caught the female’s eye, the lioness diving for the brass rat. Missing entirely with its massive paws. Her family quickly joined in, all rushing to catch this...strange mouse. Taking the threat well away from the Redguard who smiled triumphantly. Handled like a true scholar. Now...She had to get back to following the trail. Heading up the stairs of some ruins.

* * *

Not far from the lion’s den, the treasure hunting team had gotten straight into tearing up the sands. Teams splitting up into different sections of one particular ruin labeled in the stolen notes. Or at least… They were told these were the ruins where this undisclosed treasure was located. Nobody actually knew what they were looking for. Quintus, the man leading them, had kept it to himself telling them all they needed to focus on was finding it, then they would be paid handsomely.

The subject of payment was starting to become a bit of a sore topic among both the treasure hunters and hired mercenaries. Neither group actually receiving any kind of promised payment off of Mr Verres thus far. One man finally had had enough of waiting to have his pockets lined with gold. Darius Nox, a well built imperial with a shaved head approached the main dig site. Dressed in his black armour, a ‘dragon bone’ bow on his back. He spotted the scaffolding up against the dwarven ruins and atop of the structure he spotted Quintus. Darius made quick work getting up the ladders so he was atop the scaffolding and approached the taller man. Who was holding a scroll in one hand...a bottle of wine in the other.

"Hey, long legs, we need to talk- Oh give us some of that!" Darius didn't even wait for a yes or no. Grabbing the neck of the bottle and wrenching it from the other imperial's grasp. Having two glugs out of it before recoiling in disgust, swiftly handing the wine back to Quintus. "That whiskey tastes like piss, pal." 

“That’s because it’s wine,” Quintus grumbled, extending his hand and dropping the now unwanted bottle off the platform from height. Not even checking to see if anybody was down below. “What do you want? Shouldn’t you be overseeing those lazy diggers? We’ve been at this for hours, what if Tharyya-”  
  
“About that. We’ve been working our asses off with you and that nice lady for some time now. And….The thing is…” Darius gently put his fingers together. “Me and the boys are really damn tired of working for free. I get whatever you have to find, is expensive or whatever and our cut comes from what it’ll fetch...But you gotta pay those other guys tearing the whole of Volenfell apart for you too and if you think I’m taking slim pickings-”  
  
“Okay, okay…” The other Imperial interrupted, rolling up the scroll and slotting it into his belt. “Denius,”

“Darius,”

“Whatever. Listen...You’ll get your money. You and your men. The full cut, no sharing. Because I don’t intend to pay those guys…” He went on, glancing towards the men and women below. Digging away to get into the sealed up dwarven doors. “They’re slow, they’re lazy… While you guys! You and your men? Do exactly as I ask! You will get your payment, Delius-”  
  
“Darius…”  
  
“Darius- I promise! Just...Let's find what we need to find, then we’ll discuss the cuts. I’m thinking ... Thirty Seventy? That sounds fair,”  
  
“...Fifty Seventy” Darius replied  
  
“....” Quintus frowned. “....How about twenty Eighty?”  
  
“Ha! Deal!” Darius laughed. Roughly shaking the far slender man’s hand. Considering himself an expert haggler. The eighty was in his favour...right? “Alright I’ll go get out your hair. Maybe go hurry these guys up. I want my money ha! You feel me!?”  
  
“Ha ha...Ha. Yeahh...You do that!” The other imperial said with a forced grin. Waiting for Darius to finally slide down the ladder and be gone from him. Now- What was he doing? Ah right...Reviewing this map. He couldn’t figure out why they couldn’t get through these damn doors? Both his own research and his wife’s put together concluded it was hidden deep in a dwarven ruin. This was a ruin. These were doors… Maybe slipping Tharayya that sleeping potion wasn’t such a good idea…

“Hey!” Another voice called from below. Quintus grumbled and craned his neck downwards. Spotting one of his hired hunters standing below. Arms folded and foot tapping. “Can we speak for a moment?” They called up to Verres. Prompting the Imperial to gracefully slide halfway down the ladder then jumping off and landing perfectly. “It’s been one week now since you hired us out… And since you’ve involved us in your...Marital problems. I think it’s only fair to ask for some kind of...Compensation. You never said we’d be drugging your wife and removing her from the picture,”  
  
“It wasn't drugging! It was more...Making sure she's not around in the nicest way possible!" The Breton still didn't look impressed. "Yeah. Yeah yeah! I completely understand and...Appreciate all you guys have done,” Quintus said nodding along feigning his sympathy. “How are we getting along with the search, may I ask…?”  
  
“Everybody has ceased work until you cough up some gold, Verres,” She replied. Folding her arms. “So… You pay us half the wage promised now. Then the rest once we find whatever it is you’re after. I think that’s fair,” She went on.

Quintus nodded quietly. “Okay. Okay, yeah. That’s fair it’s just...If I give your team payment now...I’d have to give those mercs payment too. Meaning, I won’t be able to pay you guys in full by the end of all this,” He watched her tilt her head. He smiled and rolled on. “Between us?” He stepped closer. “I’m not going to be paying those mercenaries. What are they doing exactly? Standing around and watching you guys do all the hard work is what!”  
  
“...Yeah...Yeah you’re right!” She agreed. Giving a subtle nod to the man in black armour who was on his backside watching over some treasure hunters working away in the distance. 

“My plan is...We find what I need. I get my money for it, me and your team split our profits fifty fifty and go our separate ways before those morons get wind gold even passed hands,”

“Seems a bit...Cruel,” She pondered quietly.

“Would you like to share your cut then?”  
  
“Uh, no!” The breton snapped. “Fine. Okay. You win, Imperial. We'll keep digging...We must be close by now?”

“Definitely close,” Quintus agreed. “I can feel it!” He let her go, his fake smile quickly fading to a frown. Now he’d got rid of both his work forces for a moment, he could crack open another bottle of wine and have a good look at these notes of Tharayya’s. Maybe he’d missed something. Retrieving her book he’d tossed aside he had a flick through the pages to the most recent entry. 

> _‘The eye is suspected to be within a hall referenced as the "Guardian's Helm’_

He blinked, rereading. Why hadn’t he read this before..? A hall of some sort? Where he was digging was not a hall...Should he be looking for a hall, was the hall inside those doors? “Don’t say we’ve been looking in the wrong place…” He silently groaned and started clambering up the scaffolding again to get a good vantage. Looking for some kind of …’Hall’.

“OI! You! Lanky gitface!” Came a loud bark, popping the questions buzzing around the Imperial’s head. Quintus looked up to see Darius stomping towards him. Followed by the breton...And a small group of both mercs and treasure hunters. He slowly went to grab his inferno staff as they came upon him. Crowding at the bottom of the structure. 

“Is...Is there any reason why you’ve all stopped working...Again?” Quintus called down to them slowly. But knew full what had happened. They’d talked. Found out they’d been double crossed. Now they would probably gut him alive...Fun. How did he talk his way out of this one?

“Yeah there’s a reason! Bring your skinny ass down here you overgrown weasel!” Darius snarled “You really thought you could play us huh! How stupid do you think I am?!" 

"Incredibly!" Quintus snapped back down. 

"Oh we'll see how stupid you think I am! When I get up there and break your legs!" Quintus rolled his eyes at the threat. Why did they always want to break his legs or his neck...He calmly paced to where the ladder was attached to the platform and kicked it with enough force to send it falling down. Preventing access.

"Come get me now!" He taunted. “I’ll say this one more time! You all get paid when we find this stupid, stupid dwemer artifact! Because I’ve got nothing right now! Nothing in my banks, unless you want my debts!!” Quintus snarled...Unwisely.

There was a sea of shocked, rapidly angering faces all around him. He’d trapped himself up on a rickety building ...The jump was a good six meter drop. He’d break his ankles if he didn’t stick a good landing. An arrow cut through the air and stuck into the rock race behind him. Missing his neck by a few inches. Quintus stumbled back, tripping over himself in panic and falling right off the scaffold…

Some meters away. Tharayya had finally snuck past various sleeping and passed-out-drunk mercenaries. Finally coming to a large clearing where she could hear...Shouting and arguing. The nasally tone of her husband was among the loudest of the lot. As the Redguard poked her head up from some stone boulders to observe, she watched her dog of a husband plumet and hit the floor in a heap. He had been in on it hadn’t he! Wanted the Guardian’s eye all for himself and no doubt would’ve been happy to leave her in Volenfell at the mercy of the animals here. Watching his goons swarm him like ants felt like some kind of poetic justice.

“We’ll bury you your body here once we’re done with you!” She heard

“Get off! Back! Back I say!!” Quintus said, aiming the staff he wielded at the quickly closing in crowd. All holding their own weapons of choice, mostly being the same pickaxes they’d once helped the Imperial dig with. “I- I’m warning you!! He considered himself adept with a flame staff...But probably wouldn’t come out unscathed against a good twenty people here. The Imperial quickly looked up. ...Why was there a gargoyle statue in the middle of Volenfell? That was...Odd...But it brought on a rather unorthodox idea. “Back off or I’ll-...I’ll summon that gargoyle to life!! I can do that you know-”  
  
A pickaxe swung, prompting the Imperial to yelp and back himself up. The steel digging deep into the rock...He dreaded to think what that’d could have done to his skull. Quintus felt his back press against the rocky wall. Now cornered, options were running out. In a splurge of panic and desperation. He turned his staff...To the statue. He’d heard gargoyles were actually alive...But couldn’t be unpetrified unless a vampire lord summoned them. But those who could summon them, had a powerful living weapon at their disposal. 

“Awaken! Awaken my darling!” 

_Why did he call it a ‘darling’? Was he even achieving anything with this beyond making a spectacle of himself?_

The angry crowd must’ve shared his confusion. Lowering weapons and starring in bewilderment. Giving him that vital few seconds. “I need you to wake and smash these rabble to p-” A luminescent green beam shot from the end of the staff. Hitting the statue and the whole ruin began to shake. The force of the spell threw the imperial onto his back, his attackers quickly backing up all eyes on the crumbling statue.

The shuddering stopped. The ruins fell quiet. Darius was the first to breath out. 

“Well...Nothing happened,” He commented. “Now I call smashing his teeth out-” 

A loud roar split the air of Volenfell. 

The once stone statue burst to life. Chunks of rocks scattering everywhere, various treasure hunters fleeing to avoid the debris. An eight foot, living breathing gargoyle extended its scaly wings. A long tail thrashing around as it’s crimson eyes observed the scattering beings below it. Quintus looked up in baffled shock. It worked! He'd actually gone and done it! It- The gargoyle leapt from its pedestal. Too fast for the Imperial to react- There was a crack, sheer agony then darkness.


	2. BoilBite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go from bad to worse in Volenfell.

Tharayya cringed and looked away for a moment. She swore she heard that crunch from where she was hiding. What even was that thing and how did he manage to bring it to life?! Tharayya kept herself well hidden as the gargoyle began throwing aside mercs like they were nothing more than pesky ants. Snarling and beating off any kind of weapon foolishly chucked at it. 

The gargoyle advanced on the last group of people hoping to fend it off. Roaring deafeningly before charging, this time the men and women did run for their lives. Screaming as they went, pursued by the eight foot monster. Tharayya waited ten minutes. Then slowly come out from her hiding place. She couldn't even hear that thing's roaring anymore, reassuring her it was now far, far away. Pacing over to the mess of a dig site she approached her husband’s still body. Laying on his side unmoving and she presumed, dead. Tharayya sighed and shook her head.  
  
“Give me those!” She snapped and took the notes he’d died holding from his person. Flicking through them to make sure all were still in one piece. Happy he’d not lost a single one of her papers, she slapped the diary shut and put it into her side bag. “...I warned you one day your ego and sheer stupidity would be your own downfall,” She scorned the man’s corpse. Tharayya opened her mouth to say something else, but what was the point. Her ‘husband’ was dead. The expedition was a bust… All the help had gone and wouldn’t even entertain her after her fool husband pulled a fast one on all of them. What now…? The Redguard turned away. Perhaps she could wait for her bodyguards to come around from the drugging and the three of them could possibly...No...No that wouldn’t be fair. The hunt for the eye was over. A frustrating sadness hit the bottom of her stomach.

She turned to go. 

“ _Urghh_ …”

Tharayya froze. What was that? Oh Sep’s tongue that monsterous Gargoyle hadn’t come back had it? She slowly turned, hand hovering over one of her blades. To her shock, she saw her ‘dead’ husband’s arm slowly reaching outwards. Making some kind of groaning, gurgling noise. Tharayya was in dumbfounded shock. How was he even alive after that? That had to have been a good half tonne force landing on him surely? She approached him, watching the Imperial slowly and shakily try to pick himself up off the sand. But his lower half wasn’t wanting to cooperate. The Imperial’s head was dropped, breathing laboured. 

“...Quintus?” She asked slowly kneeling. The man slowly looked up with a struggle. Blood dripping from his nose.

“...Th-...Tharayya…?” He wheezed. Before finally seeming to give up and hit the sand again. 

“Are you dead?” Tharayya asked. Before testing for herself by nudging his shoulder gently. No response, but he still seemed to be breathing...Or in this case wheezing.

Well this was fantastic. Her traitorous husband- No...Soon to be ex-husband after today, wasn’t turned into mashed pulp after all. “What do I even do with you?” She seethed. “...What am I going to do with you…” She repeated. Quietly staring at the man. Did she simply leave him at the mercy of Volenfell? Or… Hm.

Finally, Tharayya made a hard decision.

* * *

She dumped some kindle into the camp’s fire. It would be dark soon. Unsafe to traverse Volenfell. When she’d got back her friends had come around, very dazed and confused. Tharayya had to explain everything...Mostly everything. A small...detail left out. On account of the fact she had the very cause of the problem slumped over her back when she met with the other two Redguards. Why did she cover for that weasel? Mostly because she spent so long lugging him back to the camp it’d have been a waste just for Fadanah to pull his head right off. Not that she’d be in the wrong doing so. That...And Tharayya wanted answers. She’d dumped him in their tent for the time being. Unsure if the man was hurt in any way, or just in shock. Only in the morning would she really find out.

“I knew I didn’t like the look of those lot,” The male Redguard said as the three sat by the fire. “They must’ve found out just how valuable the artifact was. Pity… What will you do now, Tharayya?”

Tharayya was mostly focused on the fire. That artifact was out there. In those ruins...Just waiting for her. “...I’m going back in,” She replied. Much to the surprise of the other two.

“After all that, losing the entire workforce? You’re not giving up?” Fadanah asked.

“I never give up!” Tharayya announced. “Not when I worked so hard to get here. Pumped so much money into this expedition… I am getting that artifact if it’s the last thing I do!”  
  
The two others exchanged looks before nodding together. “And we’ll help you, every step of the way Tharayya.”  
  
“ I knew I could count on you both. That makes four of us,”  
  
“Four…?”  
  
“Oh yes. He is coming too. Quintus owes it to me at this point,” She said giving a small side eye to the tent the mentioned Imperial was inside. “We should be clear to explore the ruins tomorrow. The bandits and hunters will have long cleared out,”

* * *

The Imperial woke to find himself still in deep darkness. Unsure where he even was now. He couldn't see the sky, so he wasn't by those ruins anymore. Realising he was...In his bedroll again made Quintus wonder had he just dreamt the whole thing? But- As he went to sit up the pain that surged from the left side of his chest was a grim reminder that no, it was not a dream. He gasped and flinched in agony nearly flopping back to the floor.

A figure close by shifted. He froze up and glanced over. Tharayya, maybe? It was hard to tell who it was...A healthy guess would say it was her. She must've brought him back...Meaning...He'd gotten away with it! He'd laugh if his chest didn't feel somebody had slammed a maul into it fourty times over.

He slid back down with a pained groan. One hand clutching at the pulsing ache in his left ribs. By the eight this hurt…. Finding any kind of comfortable position was a chore. A painful, painful chore. Maybe...Laying on his right side would help. Take the pressure off what he guessed was a good six or so broken ribs. He went to kneel onto his right leg-

"ARGH Son of a-!!"

Tharayya jolted awake. Quickly flipping to where the scream came from. Finding Quintus clutching his right leg. His eyes wide while wheezing rapidly.

"It's bad enough you go and ruin the whole expedition and now you want to wake me up at all hours of the night, Quintus?" She scolded him. Getting up and standing over the Imperial. It was almost priceless what his expression was when he realised she knew. But ...She did wonder if he'd try to weasel his way out of responsibility for his actions. 

And true to his nature…

"Wh...What do you mean?" He said "Ruined it? I didn't do anything! They just turned on me!" He whined and flinched. She presumed he was faking injuries at this point to garner her sympathy.

"Did they now?" She replied flatly. 

"Yes! Like rabid dogs! Damn dust eating rats. They stole all our research too! I went after them to stop them!"

"Really!" Tharayya gasped. Matching his dramatics. Little lying toad…

"Yes! Really. And I couldn't go after them…"

"So was this before or after you got turned into an Imperial pancake by the gargoyle?"

And there it was. The hard swallow, the lump forcing its way down his stupidly long neck.

"I uh- I...Uhh…"

"No, no. Take your time. You've all night to explain yourself," Tharayya said. Folding her arms. "I'll wait,"

The Imperial looked to his side for a moment.

Trying to figure out what could possibly get him out of this mess. But...She had him. No point in lying now...Plus...She had just...Brought him back instead of leaving him to die out there.

"The thing is… I uh-....Urgh. Look. I"ll just be honest...Got nothing else to lose here I guess. I am in...debt. A lot of debt….Frightening amounts. And that Guardian's Eye was kind of my ticket to...Not being in debt for the next fifty years of my life,"

Tharayya scowled. It was just more and more things coming out of the woodwork with this man.

"So let me get this straight; Instead of just being honest and telling me before we, you know... _MARRIED_? That you had these problems. You instead choose to just attempt to murder me and steal what we worked together to find to sell it to some...Some shady asshole so you can roll around in a pile of gold?!"

"...Well when you word it like that it makes me look like a monster…" He mumbled. "And! And I did not attempt to 'murder' you, Tharayya! Dramatic. I was...Going to come back and tell you someone stole it and we'd move on to the next thing…..Hehe…"

His nervous laughter slowly stopped when his wife's expression didn't soften even once. "I...Probably could've handled this better in hindsight,"

"Do you think so?" Tharayya retorted sarcastically. "Well you can add divorce settlements on top of your mounda of debt too! Good. Night." She seethed before returning to her sleeping bag. Conversation over.

"But- What?! You're not being serious right now-!"

"I said good night!" And that was the final say on the matter.

* * *

Dawn broke the skies of Volenfell. Tharayya woke promptly. Getting ready just as she did the day before it all went so, so wrong. Stepping over Quintus to get her gear together. She knew he was awake, though she wondered if he’d even slept. He’d not really moved from the stiff, hunched up position he’d finally put himself at some point of the night.

“Still sulking are you?” Tharayya asked. Not even looking at the man. When she didn’t get a response she tutted and faced him. Oh-...He wasn’t looking so good. He never had a good complexion, due to the late nights he’d pull doing all sorts into the night. “...Are you actually hurt?” She asked.

“No, no I enjoy curling over in agony half the night!” Spat back the man. “What do you think? Why do you love asking such obvious questions?!”

Tharayya let him have his temper tantrum. Just raising a brow as he went on and on. Only stopping when the yelling and heavy breathing was aggravating what she assumed were broken ribs. “Done?” she finally asked. Letting his hard glare speak for him. “Good. Israhal can look you over before we move off,” She left the tent before he could start his ranting and raving again. Finding the mentioned man packing up some supplies.

“Good morning, Tharayya” Israhal greeted her, securing some flaps shut on a medical bag.

“I think his ribs are broken. Couldn’t tell you how many. ...He won’t budge either, I’m praying he’s not broken his hips. The last thing I want is to lug him around like unwanted trash,”

“You’re being quite harsh. Has he upset you?” The other man chuckled Blissfully unaware of the truth. “I’ll go do what I can. You and Fadanah should start ahead. Me and your husband will be along if you’d like?”  
  
“...It’d be best if we go together. Trust me,” Tharayya answered. “Don’t worry. I’ll wait,”

The two women hung around for a good half hour before Israhal appeared again. Helping the Imperial stagger out with his arm stretched over the Redguard’s shoulders for support. Unable to put any weight onto his right leg. It was a very slow journey. But after backtracking through the opening where the gargoyle had chased off the groups. There was only one route through now, a narrow passage that lead to a sealed up door. The door mustn’t have been opened in considerable time. It wouldn’t budge when Tharayya tried it. 

“Maybe try ...Forcing it open with something…” Fadanah pondered Surveying the area for something sturdy and strong enough to force open a thick stone and brass door. The other two kept at it. Continuing to force and heave until finally- It gave way! Opening fully and nearly causing Tharayya to lose her footing.

“Good work," She told her friend. Eager to go on through. 

"He did most of the work," Came the cynical tut of her ex husband.  
  
“Shut up, Quintus,” Tharayya growled. Grabbing the scruff of the man’s neck warmer and marching him to the door Israhal had forced open. “Go make yourself useful and go first, check for traps or something,” She said shoving the Imperial in, ignoring the yelp he made from the other side. Before following him through the door. “Oh stop your whining, Quintus,” She sighed going to get the Imperial up off the ground who was acting like he'd had another eight bomes broken. As she took his arm, her foot stepped onto an unseen floor panel. The door behind them suddenly slammed shut once more. 

“Tharay-!!” The redguard on the other side was cut off as the door sealed itself.

“No!!” Tharayya cried. Rushing back to try and force the door open again. With no luck. “Dammit! Israhal!! Can you get the door open again?!” No response. They couldn’t have heard her through such a dense wall. She tried again to pry it open. Trying to use her blade to wedge the door to no avail. She thumped it in frustration...Then again...And again.

"Maybe try hitting it again. Five times the charm?" Came the infuriating voice behind her.

"Instead of just sitting there and being a pain in the ass why don't you try to help open it?" She told him. Arms folded. Of all the people to be trapped in a room with, it had to be him.

"What can I do right now?" Quintus mumbled. He'd propped himself up against the hall's wall by now. Right leg laying dejectedly while his other healthy leg was bent to his chest. 

"Can you try some kind of flame spell? Powerful enough to get the door down?"

"You know how exhausting it is channeling magic...?"

"Almost as exhausting as talking to you, I gather," Tharayya looked onwards. The dwarven hallway was quiet beyond clanking of the odd gear still active. "Come on, we'll go on ahead and find a way out. We'll meet them two again," She started walking. Managing ten steps before remembering Quintus couldn't actually walk. Reluctantly going back and letting him put most of his weight onto her as she supported him along.

Steam valves constantly burst open around the two. It made the dwarven hall comfortably warm. Tharayya had grown used to the timings of each valve and the noise it made. It was better than eerie quiet… Or Quintus running his mouth.

"Hold on-" She paused. Hearing something. Like tapping. Metal tapping on a surface. "It sounds like…" Her assumption was correct. Three active dwarven constructs were idling in one area of the hall. Right where she knew the door lead back out into Volenfell. "These constructs are still active. We need to tread carefully,"

"I'm so glad you're here to narrate everything I can see with my own two eyes, Tharayya," 

“You know...I liked you much better unconsciously. Wait here," She instructed the Imperial. Sliding him off her back. Leaving him in the corner while she went to see just how active the constructs were. She poked her head around the corner to observe. Two worker spiders and a dwarven sphere. The sphere was the main threat, they were the guards of these halls and their blades could do lethal damage. She had to dispatch quickly, sneaking wasn’t an option with an injured party member. “Quintus?” She hissed. No response. The sphere was instantly alerted, summoning the spiders to its side as it slowly wheeled to where Tharayya was hiding.

She drew her blades in either hand. Then tapped the handle against the wall, making the noise echo throughout the hall.. When it came into view, she struck. Hard.

* * *

The constructs lay dismembered at her boots. It wasn’t easy, nor pleasant. She’d come dangerously close to getting her stomach cut open through that fight. She constantly called her damned soon-to-be-ex husband to help her. She never liked admitting he had any talents but some inferno staff bolts really could’ve helped back there. Tharayya went back to where she’d left Quintus. Ready to chew his ear off for just leaving her to die AGAIN. Only when she saw him did she see why he didn’t come to help.

He was laying with his back to her. Unmoving.   
  
“Quintus?” She said, Shaking him but the man wouldn’t rouse. Though he was alive, she knew that. Watching from the side as his chest shakily rise and fall. He must have passed out suddenly. Maybe the pain came rushing back. Too much for the Imperial to bear. They didn’t have too much pain relief back at camp. They were not exactly expecting someone to break half their body through their own stupidity. Taking him under the arms Tharayya dragged the Imperial along. He wasn’t heavy, the stupid golden armour weighed more than Quintus himself. Dragging him to the end of the hall before laying him down where it seemed warmer thanks to nearby open steam valves. 

Leaving him there until they finished the expedition wasn’t an option. As much she sort of wished it could be. Tharayya needed something to get him back on his feet, kind of. Maybe one of the escaping treasure hunter’s had dropped a backpack containing something to negate his pain. If not...Her plan B...Make a painkiller from scratch. She knew of a few regents that could be found in Volenfell. The main one, beetlescuttle. Unpleasant to harvest, work with and consume. But it was potent and killed pain fast. But to get it, you needed slay either an assassin beetle, or the deadly skalk. 

Tharayya stepped out of the building. There was a long way ahead, leading into yet another dwarven hall. No constructs occupied this next hall, she made hast jogging through it...Though quickly stopping to pick up some small dwemer samples. They’d fetch something nice if she found the right collector. The next opening back into Volenfell lead to far more open space. No tight cliffs enclosing the pathway to only go forward. This time there was another door or she could keep going onwards. Tharayya went to ignore the second door, having enough of wandering the empty halls finding nothing of value. Until she caught a carcass by this door. Belonging to an assassin beetle! She rushed over. But to her disappointment, the corpse was mostly dried out. Nothing inside was harvestable. 

The sun hadn’t killed this creature though. Its body was burned black. Burn wounds atypical of the fiery skalk. One was close. This body must’ve been killed an hour, two hours ago perhaps. As the hot sun of Volenfell had not completely dried up the insect's corpse. Tharayya opened the next door and ventured inside. She knew the skalk must’ve been close. 

But not... right in this destroyed dwarven library.

It was a huge, hulking sized thing. Surrounded by four smaller assassin beetles. Like a group of bodyguards for the damn thing. This would be hard… No, it was impossible. She’d be burned alive by that beast while it’s little assassins could ambush her. ...She needed a plan. Take down the assassin beetles, lure them away somehow. Could’ve used Quintus and his ability to draw an unwanted crowd right now. Urgh- There was no way about this, she had to charge head on. Tharayya stood and walked towards the oversized beetle. 

When the Redguard was detected, the assassin beetles immediately came for her. Their six legs scattered rapidly making the most disturbing sound. Screeching viciously to ward off this predator from their alpha. One lunged, its insectoid fangs gnashing with venom. Tharayya struck knocking it back, sending green blood splattering onto the walls. The next tried coming from her left. “Argh!” She snarled and slammed her blade pinning it to the bookcase splattering ancient books with its blood. One by one Tharayya cut down the assassin beetles, her blades tearing through their exoskeletons with ease. Finally, all six lay dead at her boots. Her outfit now stained with beetle scuttle. 

“Urgh…” She grunted and got to cutting open one of the deceased beetles. Tharayya never thought she’d be gutting insects the size of dogs today. The skalk was slowly making its descent over to the occupied Redguard. Who was trying to gather as much of the needed regent possible and getting out, not willing to fight the skalk. It charged in a ring of flames towards Tharayya, forcing her to roll aside just managing to avoid fully getting caught in the fire. There was an eruption of flame around her, now it was right by her again! Tharayya struck at the skalk over and over, feeling the heat singe her horribly. But this thing had a hide of iron. She rolled aside again, trying to ignore the sting of sand colliding with her fresh burns. This skalk was some sort of ...Hybrid of assassin beetle and skalk.

Boilbite came at her again, this time just coming in for the kill. No longer relying on it’s stealth. Tharayya braced herself, gripping the handle of her blades. Closer, closer. It reared up-

Tharayya went to stick her knife right into its thorax in a last ditch attempt to subdue it-

The ground tore open beneath the beetle out of nowhere. A large pair of jaws emerging, filled with jagged teeth. Catching the skalk between them and crunching shut. Scuttle and lava spraying as the beetle writhed in agony. Screeching and hissing as the large Duneripper pulled it into the pit. Leaving nothing but drops of blood and caprice behind it. A sand like riptide burrowed past the Redguard and dissipated when it reached the hall’s doors. 

“That...Was the largest Duneripper...I’ve ever seen” She breathed. She had seen dunerippers before. Adults. They were roughly the size of crocodiles, but that thing...It’s head rivaled a crocodile’s entire body! Whatever that thing was, she prayed she wouldn’t encounter it again. Now she’d had a chance to calm down, she could harvest the beetle scuttle of the assassin beetle she had slain. No doubt she’d be applying this disgusting mixture to her own burns later… Quintus better be damn grateful when she tells him what she’d just endured for his ungrateful ass.


	3. Tremorscale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tharayya finds herself unable to break the unwanted partnership.

One hour passed. Still Quintus hadn't woken up. Occasionally Tharayya had to press two fingers to his neck to check if he was actually still alive. He had a strong enough pulse, nothing to be overly concerned about. 

Another hour. Tharayya saw him shift slightly and groan. Eventually attempting to slowly sit up.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Tharayya greeted him. Tharayya was helping herself to some food she had packed. Offering the Imperial some. "Hungry?" He shook his head and she shrugged and carried on eating. "Oh- drink this," She placed the potion viel beside Quintus.

"What is this…?" The Imperial grunted. Trying to up properly. Inspecting the deep purple liquid within. "This poison?"

"No, Quintus. Little ironic that you of all people are accusing me of trying to kill you!" 

“I never tried to kill you, we’ve been over this,”

“Whatever. Just drink the thing,” She sighed, rolling it to him. Not engaging in the back and forth any further. She heard him grumble and pop off the lid.

“How long was I asleep?” He finally said after sniffing and recoiling from the smell of the liquid various times. 

“I wouldn’t say that was sleeping,” Tharayya replied, after swallowing the rest of her snack. “You were dead to the world. I was gone forty minutes to fetch what I needed to make that. An hour to create the solution, then you woke up another hour later,”

“...You could’ve just said two hours fourty minutes,” He tutted. “Love the sound of your own voice you do, Tharayya,” Before finally glugging the potion. “What’s in this?” he asked, looking at her with grimace. “It tastes revolting! Do you have any wine, wash this down?” He pouted when the Redguard shook her head. “Seriously what is in this?! Are you sure it’s not poison?”

“No, ...It’s beetlescuttle-”

Tharayya couldn’t react in time as the man spat out whatever was still in his mouth, spraying most of it at her. 

“Quintus! What is wrong with you?!” She snapped, grunting with disgust and wiping bits of scuttle from her clothes and face. “You’re an asshole!” Tharayya flicked some of the liquid back at Quintus who was rubbing his tongue with his bare hands. Whinging over and over about the rancid taste.

“Oh by the eight- The horror- You’re trying to feed me bugs!” He wheezed, spitting the last of the contents of his mouth out onto the sand. “Why would you feed me beetle bits?! Why?!”

“Because it has healing properties you fool!” Tharayya yelled. “I try doing a nice thing for you though by Sep you do not deserve it, you just throw it back in my face as always,” She slapped the ground and stood up. Pacing to another section of the halls unable to stand being near the Imperial right now. She’d never hurt him, but sometimes she felt somebody would give him a good throttling one day and she wouldn’t object at all. Bastard idiot.

Another hour passed. Tharayya chose to take refuge for the rest of the day now. She’d ventured out back the way she’d come and felt the bitter cold quickly come upon Volenfell. No doubt once again all the fauna would be out and about, hunting for easy prey. That being her injured dog of a husband. She’d not heard Quintus in a while, he must’ve passed out again. So much for the intense healing properties. Though he had spat half of it out, that probably didn’t help. She found a comfortable space by some pipes using her backpack as a pillow before bedding down for a few hours.

* * *

The pain had numbed considerably for Quintus after a while. He found himself able to sit up with ease and not feel like fifty knives were being plunged into his ribs. His leg still throbbed horribly. But it was tolerable, enough to manage to get himself up and try to stagger about. There was a chill in the halls. Tharayya still wasn’t about. He slowly limped in the direction she’d stomped off in, eventually finding the Redguard sound asleep. Face deep into her backpack. 

“Tharayya?” He whispered. The woman didn’t stir at all. Quintus glanced back to the other chamber. Then back to Tharayya before slowly limping over as quietly as he could manage. The notes were still in that bag. Right there for the taking… That Guardian’s Eye couldn’t be far. He could find it, even with a busted leg and ribs. Go ahead with his plan… What had he to lose at this point? 

Using his inferno staff Quintus slowly began to open the bag. Catching the button that secured it together and prising it apart with considerable skill. Ironically Tharayya was the skilled locksmith out of the two of them. She always seemed capable of breaking into any door and safe they came across. Their partnership just worked. He knew where the patreons hid the maps after getting enough alcohol into them. Tharayya would get said maps as he kept the poor sucker occupied with false business promises. 

A bit of careful and delicate maneuvering readjusted the bag so it could be looted without leaning all over Tharayya and risking waking her up. Hand slid in. Ferreted around for the journal- Got it. Before very carefully and slowly pulling it out from under her. Tharayya shifted in her sleep,the Imperial froze up. But… She stayed asleep much to Quintus' relief. He slowly backed up, waited another moment to see if she would rouse, before taking off as fast as he could manage.

"Too easy!" He congratulated himself as the man staggered along. Clutching the diary to his chest. Once he was satisfied he'd put considerable distance between himself and Tharayya. He took out a bunch of the concealed maps within the book. "Okay so...I'm guessing this big building is where we just were-"He mumbled observing Tharayya's various markers indicating dud buildings. "So there's place near by and I can't keep walking-" He commented before the cracked bone finally gave out from under the Imperial bringing him crashing into the sand

He lay face in the sand for a brief moment. Groaning in pain and his own misery. Another attempt to stand went as well as Quintus expected. His leg refused to take any weight and screamed for him to just stay down. But determined to get his hands on that damned artifact, the Imperial began to drag himself forward instead. 

Ignoring how progressively harder it became to drag yourself to and from places. Quintus reached a long slope in the desert sands. Leading to another crumbling ruin. Only its outer exterior had held over the eras. He retrieved Tharayya's map once more and had another look. Not much else to go off now… She'd started to hypothesize. 

"Well you'd think logically an 'eye' would be in a damn skull. I hate dwemer," He grumbled rolling up the map and putting it away. The decrepit stairway was an obstacle within itself. It was try to walk down sand covered stairs with a busted leg, or just fall down the slope like an idiot. "Okay- Nice and steady," He mumbled to himself slowly maneuvering the injured leg down the first step. His staff made a pretty good makeshift crutch.

This went on for another three steps. A good ten minutes passed and he wasn't even half way down these wretched dwarven steps. "I hate dwemer. I hate dwemer and their stupid, stupid-" Too busy complaining and not focusing the staff slipped in the loose sand and the Imperial went tunbling down the last seven steps. "OW- OW- GODS-!!" He kept going down the slope until his body finally collided with something metal. 

At first he groaned. Unwilling to move after putting his broken body through that. Everything ached something horrible now. She made him eat beetle guts but at least it actually helped his pain. He groaned again, his head falling back onto something metal behind him with a loud clang. Quintus grunted in pain and craned his neck to look up rubbing the sore patch in his hair.

Looking back down at him was an active dwarven centurion. He stared. It stared back. With its glowing scarlett eyes. Quintus swallowed hard before slowly beginning to shuffle backwards away from the machine. Which of course, started following. “Oh no, oh no no no-!” He cried as the Centurion’s axe-like hand slammed into the ground narrowly missing cutting the Imperial in two. The man scrambled up trying to get to his feet out of sheer instinct but the break in the bone constantly brought him back down to the sand. The axe came down again, Quintus rolled to the left and again only just avoided losing an arm to its axe this time. 

“Oh by the eight-!!” He kept crying out everytime the dwarven Centurion attempted to attack. Quintus struggled up the hill, or tried to. But often had to roll aside which hindered any attempt to actually escape. Unable to walk, the imperial was forced to backward shuffle from the floor at speed, while keeping himself facing the Centurion. “Is this because I said I hated dwemer?!” He asked loudly in panic. The axe smashed into the wall it’d cornered the Imperial against. Stone splitting and flying in all directions. The weapon redrew and rose for the final strike. Quintus cowered, flinching in fear and waiting for the end. 

“Argh!!” Came a cry. The Centurion suddenly jolted as a blade tore through its middle section. Sparks and steam erupted from the metal monster. The blade withdrew and reentered. Over and over, before the Centurion could turn and face the attacker. It finally gave a mechanical groan, as the fifth strike tore through it. Falling to the floor in a cranking of gears and explosion of steam. There stood Tharayya, gripping her blades breathing heavily from sheer adrenalin.

The two both stared at the mess of a Dwarven Centurion. Now completely silent, the whirring of cogs had long fallen silent. Tharayya finally moved, sheathing her blades and sighing. It sounded like relief for the other man’s safety the way she looked to Quintus as she shook her head and sighed.

"That w-"

Before he could even speak Tharayya marched over and began frisking him roughly. Ignoring all verbal protests until she found what she was after, her twice stolen notes. “....I can explain-'' He was interrupted when a rolled up scroll whacked him on the head. It didn’t hurt at all but it was baffling enough to make him stop talking. 

“If you ever steal from me again-” Tharayya warned him. Pointing the scroll at him like it was a weapon. “So help me you’ll wish that stupid gargoyle had broken your stupid neck! ...You really are a weasel,” She said before turning to go.

“...Where are you going?”

“To find the Guardian’s Eye. Alone.”

“Wait- ...You’re leaving me here?!”

“Yes, Quintus. I’m sure you’ll be fine. You have a bad habit of turning up where you’re never wanted,” The Redguard turned away and started walking. “And don’t even think about following me!” She called, before marching onwards.

**  
Some time spent following a long forgotten trail brought Tharayya to a small oasis in the middle of Volenfell. A flowing stream ran through it, various trees scattered around the area and even a small pride of sand coloured lions were dozing under the only shade in the entire ruin. 

It was getting very, very hot now. Tharayy knew she'd have to consider taking shelter until the afternoon. She'd make sure to make as much ground as possible until then. The Guardian's Eye had to be close. There was a large building across the small stream. Big dwarven markings etched its wall. In there! That had to be it! She jumped the stream and ran to the door. Ignoring the fact the area surrounding the door was covered in animal carcasses. 

She shoved the door. It didn't budge. Tharayya pushed against it with her shoulder. It did not budge. She cursed and thought hard. 

"If I know the Dwemer, this must be opened from someplace else…" She mumbled to herself. Looking towards the building to the far right behind her. Close to the lion pride. Hopefully those lions had eaten recently… No skeeverton meant nothing to get rid of them. 

Opting to take a more stealthy approach, Tharaya gave the felines a wide berth. Keeping herself as far from them as possible as she slowly and silently stepped over the bank. Heading to the small opening that she hoped, held some kind of mechanism to open the other door. She wanted this fiasco done with. Find the eye, find her friends again and get out of Volenfell for good. ...Well...Maybe come back at some time to collect a few artifacts. 

As she passed the pride from distance one female's head suddenly shot upwards, ears up and alert. But not at the Redguard it seemed. One by one Tharayya watched the lions flee swiftly. Back the way she had arrived. 

There was slight concern in her mind. What had made lions of all things run? They preyed on dunerippers. Had little fear of people… She decided not to dwell. They had gone now. Maybe they'd run into her dog of a husband and eat him. 

Entering this next hall surprised Tharayya. The section she stood in contained mostly long rotted chests and scrap. But in the center was a platform with a single lever. Ahead was a long, narrow corridor that lead to another area ahead. But this area was hard to see on account of constant steam blasting from valves in the floor, ceiling and walls. Deadly steam. Rat carcasses littered the floors. Their fleshed burned right off by the steam. 

"Normally I don't approve of random button pressing and lever pulling…" She mumbled to herself. "But...Let's see what this does," She mumbled. Taking hold of the lever and pulling back with all her might. The device creaked and groaned, giving resistance after an era of being untouched. But it soon gave way and instantly, the shut off valves were activated and the steam dissipated. "Huh...That went better than expected…"

She hopped off the metal platform and went for the corridor. She walked through cautiously. The dwemer well known for traps. Tharayya looked to her left and a marking on the caught her eye. It was like a shadow, but stained on the wall. Then the horror hit, this was once a person. They'd been incinerated… Tharayya stopped and just stared. How had they managed to even get this far then suddenly die? Judging by the shadowing, this was recent...Very, very recent. This was one of the Treasure Hunters! 

A clanking alerted Tharayya to look behind her.

The lever!! It was moving, shaking and starting to shunt itself backwards. Meaning… The hissing of the valves started up. Tharayya immediately sprinted back towards the lever. She could make it- She'll make it!! The lever slammed back into place and Tharayya forward rolled to make it back to the lever just as the steam exploded around her. 

Struggling to catch her breath, Tharayya felt herself lean forward more as she gasped for air. That was unpleasant… After recuperating, she pulled the lever again. Only this time opting to stay put and time it, just to see if this was yet another trap. She waited and on twenty four seconds it began its clanking and juttering. Forcing itself back towards the other end. Her hand gripped it and pulled it back, the steam stopped but it started to fall back almost immediately when she let it go once more. Fighting her grip. "There has to be a way to force it to stay…" Looking for something on her person to do just that.

No, a belt wasn't strong enough. Tying something to it was too unreliable...It had a very strong pull. Another person would be best for this- ….Another person.

"...Damn it."

* * *

Backtracking again. Infuriated at her situation, Tharayya kept an eye out for the Imperial she had left behind. He can't have gotten far on a broken leg and the lack of a mauled body was a good sign the lions hadn't found Quintus first. ...But there was no sign of anyone at all. She came across the destroyed centurion again. But no sign of Quintus still.

"Quintus??" Nothing. Silence. "...The one time I need that weasel-'' Something smacked the ground in a fiery explosion right by her. She screamed and leapt backwards. Leaving a small scorched mark in the sand.

"Up here," Called a voice from the ruins above her. She slowly glanced upwards...And there sat Quintus. Nearly fifteen feet in the air, lounging like a cat on top of the ruins. "Oh it's you, Tharayya. Thought you were one of those mercs. You startled me," Though he hardly sounded startled. 

Tharayya growled like a jackal. "You clearly could see it was me! I even called for you! Are you trying to kill me you spiteful little-?!"

"I missed didn't I?" he said, then yawned. "Why are you looking for me then, Tharayya? Thought you were finding that eye by yourself? Aww...Was it too hard for you after all?" He then cackled.

Tharayya's jaw clenched. She only needed him for the steam trap...She kept telling herself that. Then she can ditch the bastard for good. "No. I just...Realised...I shouldn't have left you,"

"Because…" Quintus encouraged her to continue. Rolling over to face his wife and looking down at her.

"Because you slimy toad, I'd hate for the wildlife here to eat you and get sick!" She snapped. “...How did you even get up there? You can’t walk more than four steps yet you climbed up a ruin?”

“That’s for me to know only,” He said with a shrug. “You need my help, don’t you?”

“..Urgh...Yes,” She finally yielded. “I do need another person for this...Obstacle. And unfortunately, it has to be you,” When he didn’t seem interested she sighed having the dangle the carrot now. “And...If you help me, I’ll...Give you some help to sort out these debts you have, okay?” She saw him cock his head. “Do we have a deal, Quintus?”

She watched him seem to contemplate. Before slotting his staff away and sitting up fully, legs dangling off the edge of where he was sitting. “Alright...but I have one more request,” He called down. “...Can you help me get back down?”  


“...Okay, okay, here’s another one. A man is running from goblins and he’s carrying three gold bars. Now the bridge can only take the weight of the man and a single bar...How does he get across?” … “You know Tharayya if you’re not going to even engage I’ll just stop talking,”

“Thank Leki for that,” Tharayya huffed. Now reluctantly carrying the Imperial comically in a bridal style. He’d started whining half way that the pain was getting too much to limp...And Tharayya just didn’t wish to waste any more time. Quintus was surprisingly light so she didn’t care too much. It got him to stop complaining which was enough to justify carrying the idiot. “Okay, we’re here,” She told him as they entered the hidden passage. She dumped the ‘non precious’ cargo down roughly onto the middle platform, ignoring further complaints at her. 

“Hmm…” Quintus looked around, taking in the eerie surroundings. “...Well this just has ‘trap’ and ‘ambush’ written all over it…” He commented. 

“That’s because it is. Now I need you to do exactly as I ask, this is important,” Tharayya explained. “See this?”

“The lever?”

“Yes. When I say, you pull this lever and you keep hold of it. No matter what. You hold it like your life depends on it, Do. You. Understand?”

“...Okay yes, yes. Don’t talk to me like I’m five,” The Imperial grumbled, taking hold of the lever.

“This is serious!” She told him firmly. “Do NOT let it go! You see all that steam? It’ll turn it off and let me pass through, I’m sure there’s a lever or some kind of mechanism to open the Guardian’s Orbit! I just know it. You let that valve go while I'm still in there...And I'm dead,”

“...Alright then. That’s easy enough…”

“Don’t let the lever go, Quintus,” She told him a final time. Before giving him the nod to pull it. He did so and Tharayya ran through the halls. 

Quintus kept holding it as asked. But he noticed...It didn’t exactly need holding. It wasn’t giving him any kind of resistance. All those dramatics over some steam. “Tharrayyyaaa!” He called in a silly tone “My arm’s getting tired! Ha ha- OH CRAP!” The level suddenly jerked and the Imperial had to retain his grip and pull it back. Now it was putting up a fight. “By the eight-” The lever jerked and constantly tried to force itself back. Like a mechanism was fighting to pull the lever back. 

This was far stronger than the Imperial was. When it tried forcing itself back again, Quintus dug his left foot down against the ground. Putting all his muscle in it now and he had little muscle to start with. "No, no, no come on don't this!" He commanded it. This was starting to actually cause pain and tension in both arms. Needed more weight to hold it back- ...He reluctantly put down his right leg. Pulling back again his ankles into the sand ignoring the searing hot pain that rushed through the cracked bone in his leg.

"Come on Tharayya!!" He cried. Where was she?! The pain was getting far too much. Feeling a sharp ringing enter his head on top of the thudding pain from his broken ribs from being in such a hunched position. "Oh gods…" Just focus, ignore the pain…- Can't. Going to pass out-...

The lever pulled free from his weakened grasp. Yanking back to the other side. To the Imperial's sickening horror. Quintus grabbed the lever and quickly tried pulling it back. But now it wouldn't come back at all. Staying firmly where it was. He pulled and yanked, ignoring the fact the motion was hurting his ribs more and more. "Oh gods...Oh, no, no...Tharayya?!" He called anxiously. Head snapping to the death corridor only to see...No steam. Just...Tharayya walking back completely fine!

"You can let go!" She called as she walked back. "There was another valve on that side. That turned this damned steam off for good… OH! And I was right! There was a dwarven device at the back that I'm sure opened that sealed door! ...Quintus, you don't look so good. Are you- Hey!" That was the last thing he heard before feeling himself hit the ground.

* * *

Twenty minutes had passed before shuffling and groaning alerted Tharayya. She stepped over and took a knee beside the rousing Imperial. "Welcome back to the living," She greeted him. "You weren't out long, before you ask," She explained pulling over a tattered backpack.

"...Where did you find that…?" Grunted Quintus. Slowly coming to more.

"While walking back down those steam vents. It belonged to some unfortunate treasure hunter who was probably recuperating their losses after you screwed them all over," Tharayya explained. "Found some medical supplies inside...Actual ones, not the beetle guts-" She quickly said. Seeing the man's mouth open to start his complaining. "I...Took the liberty of applying painkillers while you were out,"

"Oh…Explains why I don't feel too crappy…" He grunted slowly, shifting to sit up fully. "Thanks-"

"Ah ah!..I wouldn't sit down like that ...It's...Probably going to hurt,"Tharayya quickly interjected. Most of the pain relief came in needle form when she had opened up the backpack. Her husband was that scrawny she'd be there all day finding a vein. 

"You seriously jabbed me in the ass?" The Imperial grumbled. As Tharayya got him up and took an arm over her shoulder. "...Oh who cares. Thanks…" 

"...You're welcome. Thank you for actually helping. In truth, I was expecting you to just release the valve and leave me to die, so you could take it all for yourself," Tharayya explained as they headed to the small clearing. Again ignoring the various beetle carcasses. Including that of Boilbite.

"I'm a bit of an asshole but not stupid. Killing you would've just doomed me to die here! ...Oh and- you know...Murder isn't good sometimes…" He quickly added seeing her unimpressed face. "...Did you notice how many dead things are around here?"

Tharayya did finally take a moment to observe. "...Yeah. This must be a duneripper's nest. Lets not hang around," She said, placing the Imperial down for a moment to go check if the door had really unlocked. Quintus sat watching the stream, how did a water source that barely.moved look so clean?...Then the water rippled. Then again. 

"Tharaya…?" He anxiously called

"Just a second-" Came the call back.

The rippling moved towards the land, then the Imperial saw small rocks beginning to move and bump about. Something was...Moving. Under them both. "Tharayya-"

"Shush!...Do you hear that?" She whispered. Picking up a faint rumbling. "It sounds like something moving...Down there-" The rumbling became louder and louder, until the ground around them exploded. Sand flying everywhere as a large Duneripper erupted from a sinkhole. Screeching and hissing. Its thick plates tail swaying around violently, slamming into Tharayya and knocking her into the wall.

She groaned and slowly slid down from the impact. That...Hurt… The Duneripper turned to the next intruder behind it. Crawling towards the panicked Imperial who quickly pointed his staff at it. 

"Away!! Back!!" He told it harshly. When it didn't even flinch, he opted for attacking. Gripping the top and bottom of the staff, he moved the top end in a swift flick and out shot a small fireball. Hitting the large duneripper's plated forehead. At first it didn't even phase the beast. Only irritate it. It stampeded towards the Imperial who panicked and got ready to hit it with a more powerful bolt. 

The duneripper halted midcharge though. Its stubby legs quickly skidding in the sand trying to stop itself. Finally coming to a stop inches away from Quintus', wailing in fear and starting to retreat to the sinkhole. Escaping just as fast as it had attacked. " ...Ha! Yeah! Run away you big...thing," Quintus tutted then limped over to a dazed Tharayya. "Are you alright?"

"Yes...I think,"

"I handled that thing. Not to worry. Sent it running scared! And you always say I'm a pushover and a coward in a fight!"

"Quintus…"

"No no, I'm not done gloating!" He tutted putting his weight onto the staff. "I've saved you twice now! Count it, twice! Where would you be without me huh?"

"Somewhere warm and happy! You didn't scare off that duneripper,that thing did!" She cried pointing behind him. The Imperial turned around. Crawling down from the ruins...Was the gargoyle. It was looking right at them and started advancing over on all fours. "Come on!" She shouted getting the man over her shoulders without given warning and headed for the door. Getting herself and Quintus through, chucking the imperial off and pushing the stone door shut. 

Just as the gargoyle jumped for them both, making it hit the hard surface. They heard it groan and start making frauated grunts and almost...Pitiful noises from the other side. 

"Lets go, I don't know how long that door can hold if it decides it's not giving up..."


	4. The Guardian Trinity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't touch.

The creature had started banging on the door. Roaring and slashing at the brass, desperately trying to break in. Tharayya walked on swiftly. Unsure how long the doors would hold while keeping the Imperial over her shoulder. Ignoring the building complaints that he ‘wasn’t a shoulder sash’.

“You’re too tacky to be a sash. Maybe a stole, but not a sash,” Tharayya replied with a smirk. “A tacky, moth eaten stole,” She repeated patting him quite hard making the Imperial grunt in pain. 

“Ouch?!” He whined “You just hit me where you stuck that needle in!”

“Oh stop your complaining. You hardly minded that while on our honeymoon,”   
  
“Be quiet!” Came the flustered snap. “Just shut-”   
  
“Shh! Look...Constructs,” Tharayya interrupted, dropping Quintus to draw her blades. Leaving him to whine how  _ ‘that hurt! _ ’. More dwarven spheres. Tharayya pulled her face, her least favourite ones to deal with. Those bolts could puncture most armour and she wasn’t exactly wearing ebon plating. She hurried back to where she left Quintus. “Come here and keep quiet,” She instructed, taking his arm and helping him up. “I need you to take out those constructs. I’ll handle the spiders,”

“...Why do you get the easy targets?” Quintus tutted. “I get the cutting spheres that slice you into cheese strings and you get the stupid, useless spiders that don’t even attack?” He asked, but to Tharayya’s surprise he did as he was asked. One, two and a third swing of the staff saw three separate bolts of fire hit three all of their targets with precision. Burning the constructs rapidly and breaking them down in seconds. While Tharayya took to violently stabbing the dwarven spiders over and over. The Imperial swallowed nervously watching her do this, quickly averting his eyes when Tharayya stepped away and looked over to him. 

They reached a large pair of obsidian coloured doors. Patterned with golden dwarven symbols. “It’s here!” Tharayya announced with pride “Look! Look!” She brought the Imperial’s neck down and pressed his face into some dwarven writings. 

“ _MrtMurshiz-_ ” She pulled him away quickly. “...I said  _ ‘It sure is’ _ ...” He grumbled, rubbing his cheek. “Well...Let's go. We didn’t go through all this just to look at doors,” Tharayya carried the Imperial through the heavy doors, it took both their strength combined to push the doors open. Tharayya gasped in shock and awe.

* * *

Around her was walls that stretched on for five meters, then led into the open Volenfell desert. Going on and on. But in the center of this opening was what the Redguard had her eyes on. In the middle of the opening. Floating ominously upon a podium, was a stark white dwarven artifact. It looked exactly like an eye. The Guardian’s Eye.    
  
“I found it! Haha!” Tharayya laughed, dropping Quintus and rushing to the podium. “It’s here!...I..I can’t believe I actually found it,” So desperate to reach out and take it. But she couldn’t...The Guardian’s Eye was, of course, guarded. To the left, right and ahead stood three large dwarven centurions. Their plating coloured red to the left, blue in front and green to the right. All seemed dormant. Secured in large dwarven framing.

“What do we do?” Tharayya asked quietly, seeing Quintus limping over from the corner of her vision. “You know what will happen if we try to move this,” 

“...Hm…” Quintus hobbled around, leaving Tharayya to think long and hard. Finally finding a large rock half buried in the sand. He picked it up, wound his arm back… 

“Quintus NO!-” The rock left his hand and propelled towards the red centurion. It hit it in the chest making the smallest ‘dink’ noise and bounced to the floor. Tharayya held her breath. Her jaw clenching in sheer fear waiting for the thing to come to life and charge at her. But...Nothing. It didn’t even stir, or make a single noise. She snapped her neck to Quintus who made a _ ‘See? Nothing’ _ motion. “...You know, one day your sheer dumb luck will run out,” she scolded him. Going to take the Eye now. Holding her hands out very, very carefully. “The Eye may be fragile... “

Her husband’s staff suddenly knocked onto her wrist making her recoil away from the eye. She glared at the man holding it. Was he stupid enough to try something now? “What are you doing?” She demanded to know, rubbing her wrist in pain.

“I’ll pick it up. I’m the mage here. You were going to pick that up with your fingertips exposed,” Quintus said, rolling his eyes condescendingly. “You’d have burst into flames if I know these stupid dwemer,”   
  
“Don’t be stupid. When I want to be wrong about things I'll start asking for your input, okay?” She seethed. Though...On second thoughts, maybe Quintus taking the brunt of any trap was a better idea after all. “...Fine. You take it- Gently!!” She said, gripping his arm hard. “Gentle,”

Quintus reached out with both hands. Slowly bringing them in as Tharayya held her breath. His gloved palms slowly closed in... 

The moment they made contact, there was a sudden flash, green lightning shot through the Imperial’s hands and up his arms, making him drop the eye with a pained yelp and both the treasure hunters were blasted back in opposite directions by an unseen force. Tharayya felt herself be flipped backwards in the air and hit the sand various times until she slammed into the blue Centurion. She gasped, clutching her chest where the sharp pain was far more prominent now. She suspected a cracked rib… “Qu-...”

A blue plated Centurion behind her jolted to life. Its rusted leg lifted and stepped outwards towards the Redguard, making her scramble backwards and get up to flea. “Oh no…” She whined. Seeing by now, the other Centurions had come forward. Quintus had been flung towards the way they had come in and he hadn’t even gotten up yet. “Quintus!” She called to him, the man raised his head groggily. Okay he’s still alive. Not quite deciding if that was good or bad just yet.

Quintus rolled onto his back and slowly sat up. That had been...Unpleasant. Like touching the wrong end of a lightning staff. But a thousand times more painful. He held his hands out before him, the green glow slowly faded away. He worried now, Tharayya always said green was never a good colour when it came to magical forces… She was screaming something at him in the distance. While pointing wildly at him.

"What are you nagging me about no-?!" Sharp, blunt force slammed into him. Sending him hurtling another ten yards. When he managed to come back to his senses he saw all the right side of his armour had been sliced open. Just missing his flesh. Thunderous thudding broke his focus, the ground shook violently as the red and green dwarven centurion came running towards him. 

The red plated one began spinning its top half in a constant three sixty motion. Bearing two deadly blades that'd shred anything apart in seconds that made contact. Quintus desperately tried scrambling to his feet and get to Tharayya. The centurion monsters in hot pursuit of the limping target.

"Any ideas?" Tharayya asked as the imperial got behind her. 

"Don't die!?"

"Great idea! Move!" She instructed as the twirling centurion of death came spinning over to them both. Feeling the blades cut through the air as she narrowly rolled aside. Now the two machines split up. Green went after Quintus, Red stormed after her. Tharayya kited it along the sides of the area. The blades were always less than a few inches behind her, the sound of sharp metal slicing through the air always acting as a warning never to stop. “Escape- Need- Escape-” She said between gasps.Head snapping left and right, trying to spot a way out of the death trap. Ahead...An opening! Another door that was cracked and falling apart. Her escape!- Was cut short as a green axe slammed before her.

Tharayya screamed and skidded back. Falling flat and scuttling away to continue heading away from the red bastard still chasing her. Why were they both on her now?! 

Finally, the machines stopped attacking. Still active...But entering a stage Tharayya could describe as ‘interlocking’ with one another via a powerful energy beam. The blue Centurion appeared to be taking energy from the red and the green ones after remaining mostly docile the entire ‘fight’. Tharayya seized the chance to go and grab the Eye, then grab Quintus and get out of here.

"Up here!" Tharayya looked to her left. Up at the top of the framing that once secured each centurion was Quintus. Again...She asked herself how on earth he achieved such a fiat with a broken leg. He'd wrapped his arms and his good leg around the piping holding on for dear life.

"Get down and quickly! I don't know what those three guardians are doing but they're not attacking! Let's grab the eye and go!" The Imperial slowly started to try and slide down as gracefully as possible. But ended up falling and landing hard anyway. Tharayya stood over him to get him back up quickly. "When you touched the eye what happened?! Did it hurt??"

"..Kind...Kind of…" He replied rubbing his neck. "Just felt like...Something did not want me touching it. Then it…" He looked to his hands. The glow was gone now. Maybe it was nothing after all. "Nevermind. Who cares, grab it-"

The Guardian's abruptly cut the connection to one another. The blue one lifted its arm and shot a projectile into the air. It swiftly came shooting down, crackling with energy. Landing right on top of the eye. Lightning burst all around it. Tharayya felt herself be pulled away from the deathly lightning. "That was too close…" Whispered the man behind her, letting her go. 

"Oh no...Here come its friends!" Tharayya whined as the red and green guardians came charging over again. "Split up!" She instructed him, taking off. The blue guardian was now continuously shooting its electrical projectiles into the air. Raining lightning all around what was now a death arena. Again the two mobile constructs followed Tharayya. Her legs were starting to ache from the constant running to keep away from four sets of blades.

Lightning crashed all around her as she ran. Unable to predict where it would land- Tharayya felt a harsh jolt run up her spine and she collapsed to the floor with a whine. She- She couldn't move. Her body wasn't responding as her brain screamed for her legs to move. Unable to even scream as the two guardians were closing in on her.

This was it. She would die here.

* * *

When the centurion's went after Tharayya, Quintus seized the opportunity to get back to the entrance. He fancied his chances against the gargoyle rather than three out of control metal giants. Tharayya would be fine...Right? Yes she'd be fine. She could run, that was one advantage she had over him in this whole situation. If she ever found him again after he escaped he'd let her have a free shot at hitting him. Seemed fair.

The doors put considerable strain on the man's broken bones as he tried forcing them back open. But it was like they had sealed themselves shut. Dwemer and their tricks…Tharayya's cry of pain made the Imperial stop sharply and look back. Seeing lightning strike her down. Dropping the woman in seconds and she didn't seem to be moving now. "...Shit," He mumbled. Swallowing before turning back to the door. Escape. Just get out. Don't look back.

He saw the two centurions looming over her still body. Swallowing hard. "... Damnit, Tharayya,"

Feeling was quickly returning to Tharayya’s body. But it seemed too late. She saw two figures towering over her. This was the end. She had come all this way to die. The green axe came swinging down. Tharayya flinched and curled up- But...She realised the blade had stopped just a fraction from her midriff. The Guardians slowly turned their gaze back to the Eye. Observing an Imperial had both his hands on it. “...Quintus?” She wheezed weekly. Making out his blurry form.

The centurions withdrew their blades. Turning their attention to the threat on the Guardian’s Eye. Both came thundering towards the Imperial. Quintus felt the ground shaking violently under his boots. Still he kept his hands on the eye, swallowing down building fear. “For once you were right, Tharayya. My dumb luck finally ran out,” He laughed to himself. “...Ugh. I hate admitting when she’s right,"

Both Guardians thundered towards the man and swung for him. The Centurion's arm connected with the side of Quintus' midriff. Sending him flying and hitting the nearest wall with a painful crack. He slid down slowly, finally coming to the ground with a groan. The enemies stopped to do the strange connecting beam to one another again…

Everything just…Hurt now. Hurt too much. The ground shook as they got closer. The entire chamber then shook as a roar echoed through. 

_ Bang. _

The chamber doors shook.

_ Bang. _

They shook again.

A final bang and the doors burst open. A horned head poked itself in. Then slowly stepping in came its scaled body, sniffing the air. When it caught the scent it had been following the gargoyle turned its head, looking right at the cornered Imperial. It screeched and powered its muscular body forward towards the three figures. Running on all fours gaining faster and faster momentum. "Death by Gargoyle or death by machine…" Quintus groaned weakly. Trying to slowly make an escape attempt. Trying and failing as his beaten body just gave up everytime. 

The creature jumped, jaws wide open. Its stained yellow teeth clamped down hard… Onto the head of the green Centurion. It ripped and tore. Pulling until finally, the Centurion was completely decapitated in an explosion of sparks and steam. But it wasted no time leaping off the falling green one and onto the red one. The Imperial could only watch in stunned silence as a one ton gargoyle began shredding and dismantling the death machine. Ignoring how its spinning blades ripped into its wings. Sending chunks of membrane flying across the place.

With a final yank the arm of the scarlet centurion ripped away. Its body being violently kicked aside by the gargoyle. Leaving it to writhe and jerk from the floor unable to stand any longer. Finally turning its attention to the Imperial on the floor. Approaching him slowly on all fours. Sniffing at him, a deep rumbling coming from its throat.

"Hey hey wait!! Don't you want to finish that thing off first?!" Quintus cried. Pointing to the blue centurion. Now standing completely dormant. Useless with no others to power it. The gargoyle looked to Quintus, followed his pointed direction and roared furiously. Barrelling towards the blue Centurion. "I'll...Leave you to it!" He called. Watching it rip and tear. Pulling limbs away with ease. 

Heaving himself up with his staff he started staggering over to where Tharayya lay. "Come on, Tharayya you need to get up now," He urged her. Poking her hip with the tip of his boot. "I can't carry you! I can barely carry myself!" 

By now the centurion who had its arm removed had finally gotten back to its feet. Sluggishly dragging itself towards the humans. "Oh come on..." Quintus whined. The gargoyle seemed too preoccupied using the blue thing's leg as a rope toy. Having the time of its life. "I suppose this is up to me then huh...As useual?"

Quintus aimed the staff at the lumbering red machine. A firebolt wouldn't be strong enough...Something more powerful that he could manage.... His grip on the staff tightened. Channeling every ounce of mana he had in himself into the staff and slamming the base of it down into the sand. 

What he expected was a large cone of magma to form in the ground. It was quite a taxing ability to perform but often devastated anything that stepped onto this wall of magma. But what instead happened… What was supposed to be cracks of flaming orange stead were dark green. Cracking through the sandy ground like poisonous viens. Scattering across the ground in all directions. Before rapidly turning black, then fading to nothing. 

"...Oh that doesn't seem good," He mumbled. As the gargoyle lumbered over and punched the red plated machine hard enough to go right through its skull. Letting its lifeless body collapse to the ground, before retracting its fist and coming back over to the two people. Expecting to be ripped in two the Imperial stepped back nervously. But the beast didn't touch him. Just simply sit on its haunches and watch him with its amber eyes. "Well...Uh….So you won't eat me?" He asked it. "...I'll take that as a yes. Though don't feel shy about eating my wife- ...Wait...What's that sound?"

It sounded like...Scratching. Slowly clawing itself way up to the surface. A hand broke the surface. Mummified and rotten. Quintus screamed and fell backwards. Another hand broke through, skeletal this time. Then another,

And another,

The Imperial could only watch in horror as undead began dragging themselves out of the ground surrounded by a green aura. Mummies shambling towards them, skeletons dragging their broken and snapped bodies. His new gargoyle friend growled at the approaching undead. When one mummy got too close for comfort the gargoyle attacked. Swiping it away. Starting to fight off the hordes of undead.

Quintus grabbed an unconscious Tharayya and started dragging her towards the broken doorway behind them. He could practically feel the bone in his leg snapping more and more with every step he took. Then he remembered the Eye. Countless gold if he brought that back... The hordes were starting to overwhelm the gargoyle at this point. He looked to the Eye, then the woman in his arms. Then back to the eye.

It was sparking wildly on its podium. Going volatile. If he wanted that thing he had to act now. It was the Eye or Tharayya. He didn't have time to go back for one he left behind. ...He heaved Tharayya up best he could. Staggering towards the cavern and not stopping until they both were on the other side and finally safe from Volenfell.


	5. End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Activity Complete: You escaped the ruins of Volenfell.

A chill swept through Volenfell as the night began to draw in. Feeling the cold breeze hit her face, Tharayya slowly began to rouse. The sky was a stunning lilac in colour now, various reds blended within it. Where even was she? Some kind of small oasis… Trees, a large waterfall crashing down into a lake. A large oddly shaped rock was by the river. She could just make out the slender frame of Quintus laying against said rock. Looking onwards to the waterfall. Probably passed out again. A dull ache woke her further. Remembering the force she had slammed into the blue plated Centurion, oh this would hurt much, much worse tomorrow. Prompting the Redguard to sit up with a pained groan. A rib ached terribly. 

Back in the council. The eye…

The eye! 

She sat up fully, letting out a cry as the cracked rib in her chest throbbed mercilessly. 

Her yelp made the 'rock' look up. It was no rock at all. The gargoyle slowly shifted, rolling itself onto its four legs and letting Quintus just hit the floor with a thud. Of course it didn't wake him up. It took the gargoyle nudging him over and over before finally roaring at him for the man to finally make any kind of movement. 

" _ Alright, alright I'm up… _ " Tharayya heard. Then saw him jump in shock to see the gargoyle’s snout inches from his own face. “Yeesh… It’s waking up to Tharay-...Oh she's awake...” He whispered, seeing the redguard sitting up and not looking at all impressed to see him. 

“Like you’re a pleasant sight in the morning,” Tharayya hissed back. “... What happened back there..?” Picking herself up, holding her aching side as she approached the sealed up passage. “How did I get here? What happened?” She continued to ask. While pressing and shoving at the blockage in the pass.

“Well… You were knocked out. So you weren’t being too helpful, thank you for that by the way- So-” 

“Why is the door shut?” She asked. “Did it cave in? How?”   
  
“That was Darling’s doing,”   
  
Tharayya paused. Slowly turning her head to her husband, eyes narrowed. “ _ ‘Darling’ _ ...? What is  _ ‘Darling’ _ ?” clearly he wasn’t referring to Tharayya herself.

“That’s...What I’m naming this gargoyle,”

“Quintus...You don’t...Name a gargoyle…” She said. Rubbing her temples. It just wasn’t worth the aggravation to question his antics. So she didn’t, leaving the gargoyle topic dead in the air. “Did you get the Eye, at least?” She then saw his face. “Please… Please tell you got it. The one  _ useful _ thing you could’ve done on this entire-!!...”   
  
“...I didn’t really have a choice. ... _ Kind of like marrying you _ -” The last bit said more as a snarky mumble.

“Don’t. Even. Start,” She seethed. Turning slowly like an enraged jackal. “I am this close to ripping your ratty beard off you selfish, lazy, lanky, weasel looking-” 

“Okay!  The threats are getting a little hurtful,” The Imperial grumbled. “It just vanished. The eye. I didn’t even get the chance to go near it,”

“So ...So it’s gone then? Everything I worked for, months and months of research, money and planning!? ...Gone,” Her voice was filled with defeat and sadness. “It really was all for nothing, wasn’t it?”

Quintus watched the Redguard slowly slump to the floor and just stare at the sand. Her expression was completely blank. He bit his lip, looking to his left, where the cliff began to slope upwards. “I’ll uh...Be over there then…” He said, before staggering over to the cliff’s edge. The pain in his leg had gotten far, far worse since getting chucked about like a ragdoll back there. Praying the break hadn’t gotten worse from the impact he’d hit the ground so many times.

This was a good vantage point, seeing all the way back to the first camp. Even sighting those two friends of Tharayya’s wandering aimlessly. Waiting for them both to come back. “Didn’t even attempt to get past the first hurdle, ...Though given what we went through I can hardly blame them...Tharayya your friends are wondering like lost souls. ...Tharayya?”

He craned his neck. She still hadn’t moved from her hunched up position. There was just no expression on her face. Eyes holding that same thousand yard stare of defeat. “...Tharayya?” Quintus called. No response. He shrugged and took hold of the Gargoyle’s horn gently pulling it along. “Fine, stay there,” Quintus just wanted to get back to Sentinel, swallow a bucket of painkillers and sleep for a week. Breathing was just so...So painful at this point.

‘Darling’ abruptly tugged backwards, nearly bringing the Imperial’s arm out of its socket. “Ouch! Come on! I want to go back home!” He complained loudly. Tugging again on the gargoyle’s horn. “Somebody has to carry me down this cliff and-”

The gargoyle grunted and  _ very  _ lightly headbutted the man in the back, then tossed its head in Tharayya’s direction. “What?” Quintus grunted. “What do you want from me!?” Darling made another noise, nodding her head to Tharayya. “Yeah I can see her! She’s not coming with us and I’m not waiting around for her because I’m in agony here-!” Another hard nudge, this time propelling the Imperial back towards her. Stumbling, then falling face first beside her with a groan concerning his aching ribs and leg. “...Fine…” Came the eventual defeated mumble from the sand.

“...Why are you still here?” Came the irritated grunt of the woman. “I’m sure you’ve some stupid, unhelpful comment to make but just don’t alright? Just- don’t even bother,” She snapped, now looking up to the Imperial. Expecting the stupid comment to be said anyway. ‘ _ Don’t do that _ ’ never had stopped him and she wasn’t expecting it to now. “Just go.  _ Please _ ,”

"When have I ever said something 'unhelpful'?! ...Actually don't answer that. Look, uh…" He sighed and slowly struggled to sit beside her. It was getting increasingly hard to string a sentence as the pain slowly intensified. Having to take short gasps between words. "I'm... uh… I didn't exactly- What I’m trying to say is..."

"The  word you are looking for is  _ 'Sorry' _ !!"

“I wasn’t actually going for that. Listen… I’ll take ...forty percent of responsibility for what happened today.  _ Maybeee _ I shouldn’t have-....” He caught Tharayya’s expression. If looks could kill he’d have dropped dead here and now. “Okay, okay, okay, this was all my fault! And I’m ...I’m sorry. ...But I can make it up to you! Really, if you’ll let me?”

There was a pause. The Redguard looked him up and down slowly. “...What are you sorry for?” She asked. “Tell me  _ why _ you are sorry,”

A huff came from the Imperial. He probably wanted to go for a drawn out, exasperated exhale but those crunched up ribs wouldn’t allow it. 

“I am sorry for trying to steal the artifact,”

“And?”

“...And for lacing your food so you wouldn’t wake up while I stole it…”

“And what else?”   
  
“Tharayya, every breath is like a hammer to my chest here!” Quintus protested. “So look. Recently, about two months ago, a pretty interesting piece of information just happened to find its way into my lap-”

“You probably  _ stole _ it,” Tharayya corrected. 

“...How the maps and books were obtained is not relevant.” He interjected holding his hand up. Anyway, this thing. It’s apparently ancient. Hidden away deep, deep underground. Because it’s not to be found. Why? Nobody knows,” … “And it’s all yours, Tharayya if you want it…” Tharayya squinted. Clearly not buying his random act of kindness. “I ruined this for you. I know. Tried making it mine to take because I needed the money. So… Now you can go on this expedition instead. So you’ll still have something after all, what do you say?”

She folded her arms. There was a reason weasels in fables were crafty and not to be trusted. He’d never mentioned these maps to this ‘rare’ and ‘ancient’ treasure and if he’d been hiding them in their rented apartment, she’d have surely found them by now. Quintus was  _ horrible _ at organisation. Maybe he really did have something to offer here. “If this is so rare, as you say… Why are you so willingly giving me this information? Is this another of your schemes? I find this thing and you run up behind me and smack me over the head with a mallet, claiming it for yourself? ...Not that you’d be able to do much running,” she scoffed, eyeing the man’s oddly bent leg. It wasn’t that shape before they’d entered the chamber…

The Imperial wheezed, laughing dryly. “Answered your own question. What can I do? Look at me,” He commented, gesturing at himself from the chest downwards. “I won’t be going treasure hunting for a good while.  _ Urghh….These medical bills won’t be pretty _ ,” … “If you come with me back to Sential, I can show you everything I’ve been gathering on this thing,”

...Oh why not Tharayya finally decided. What did she have to lose? If he did turn out to be lying there were  _ a lot _ of people in Daggerfall who’d love to get hold of this Imperial. “Alright ...But that doesn’t mean I forgive you for  _ any _ of this though,” Tharayya then stood up. Dusting down her trousers. Getting the grains of sand off of herself. She glanced at the large beast, which had kept itself a distance away watching the two people converse. “Hey, hey come here!” She called, excitedly slapping her legs. 

The gargoyle came bounding over in a flash. Like a large, scaley dog. It was cute...In a strange way. “Come here! Oh such a good gargoyle!” Tharayya said, patting it’s horned head as the monster nuzzled her lovingly. 

“Hey no fair I tamed it first you can’t steal it off me!”

“Shut it, Verres.” She tutted. Before hurling herself onto the creature’s back. “Get on,” The Imperial went on to spend a good three minutes trying to haul himself up on the gargoyles back. Often just hitting the sand again when he lacked the upper body strength to pull himself fully up. “You should probably give him a hand he can’t do anything by himself,” Tharayya finally said to Darling who lowered herself down. Finally letting Quintus drag himself on.

On Tharayya’s instruction the Gargoyle leapt from the cliff. Then bounding down at speed towards the beginning of the ruins of Volenfell. So very, very eager to put this disaster of an expedition behind her and move onto her next adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Optional: Kill your husband)


End file.
